A study published in the latest New England Journal of Medicine shows that abortion rates declined during the first two years that Massachusetts implemented a near-universal health coverage program much like the nationwide plan currently before Congress.
[…]
The study on abortion rates released Wednesday could bolster that argument. It shows that the number of abortions in Massachusetts declined by 1.5 percent during the first two years of the new health care program (2007-2009) and the decline was 7.4 percent among teenagers — even though the percentage of non-elderly people receiving coverage went up nearly 6 percent.
The study also points out that the abortion decrease occurred “despite public and private funding of abortion that is substantially more liberal than the provisions of the federal legislation currently under consideration by Congress.” Massachusetts is one of 17 states where the state government finances abortions under Medicaid that the federal government cannot pay for.
In related news, “On Wednesday, a group representing 59,000 Catholic nuns plus more than 50 heads of religious congregations issued a strong statement urging ‘a life-affirming ‘yes’ vote’ in support of the Senate bill.” In short, the nuns’ organization ” believes the bill as written guarantees that there will be no federal funding for abortion and does not need to be ‘corrected.'”
As I said, so much for the “pro-life” argument that there’s anything about current health care reform legislation that will result in more abortions. There isn’t.
P.S. The New England Journal of Medicine study is here.
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